Commonwealth Bank Wins Prestigious Sustainability Award

Commonwealth Bank wins prestigious Sustainability Award

11 December 2009: The Commonwealth Bank has been recognised as an industry leader in corporate sustainability by winning the Special Award for Labour Relations/Human Capital Management at the Australian Sustainability Awards presented by Ethical Investor magazine.

Now in its ninth year, the Australian Sustainability Awards recognise best practise in corporate sustainability among Australian Stock Exchange listed companies. Commonwealth Bank was also a finalist in the Sustainable Company of the Year Award. Barbara Chapman, Commonwealth Bank Group Executive said this award demonstrates the Group's commitment to creating a sustainable environment at all levels of the business.

"This is fantastic recognition of the great progress the Group has made towards our goal of trust and team spirit by engaging our employees. It's also a reflection of the development of our sustainability program, including greater disclosure of our People and Culture programs through our Sustainability Report and Annual Report," Ms Chapman said.

The Awards were judged by a panel of experts in the field of corporate sustainability who have extensive knowledge of how corporate Australia is developing in this area. Nominations must be for specific achievements and agreed upon by the committee of specialists in the field of sustainability.

The Commonwealth Bank's result can be attributed to some specific initiatives including:

* Engaging our employees so that they deliver to our vision of excellent customer service
* Strengthening and unifying our culture so that we operate as one team with a single focus.

"We are determined to be number one in customer satisfaction and everything we do in all areas of the business is with this in mind," Ms Chapman said.

For more information on Commonwealth Bank's approach to sustainability visit
commbank.com.au/sustainability

For further information contact:
George Pank
Commonwealth Bank
(02) 9378 3944

SOURCE: Commonwealth Bank of Australia